I really appreciate ALL feedback on the new site, both good and bad because I recognise that a). you’ve taken the time to leave it and b). you’ve (mostly) broken the bad bits to me gently! Thank you x

I want to address a couple of things and I’ll try not to ramble too much…

Ads

There are actually LESS ads on the site now than before the redesign. Previously, the homepage contained an ad below each post, 1 in the sidebar and the leaderboard ad under the header. Now the homepage contains the leaderboard ABOVE the header (I wanted to separate it further from the content) and 1 in the sidebar. The in-post ones now only display inside the ‘actual’ posts.

I wanted to clarify that one so you don’t think the redesign was some cynical money-making opportunity!

Personalisation

I like to think that the site personality comes more from the content than the boxes that surround it but all I can really tell you is that I’ve injected SO much thought into choosing clear fonts, contrasting labels, a ‘snazzy’ header that actually represents my obsession and trying to increase interactivity with you guys in the form of linkbacks to you (if relevant) through comment listings etc.

What I’m getting at is that I didn’t just pick a generic corporate style template and click ‘activate’. I picked a basic layout design, then ripped it to shreds and started again. It’s got personality by the bucketload, I can’t help it if I’m a bit boring! 😉

I wanted you to have access to as many posts at a single glance as possible. This was the trade off between the original scrolling design and how it looks now. To be completely honest, I struggled like hell with this one. Do I give you all an extra click or more content at a glance? The thing that swung it for me was being told that doing it this way *should* reduce site load time. With my previous design, it was having to load anything up to 20 fullsize images with every load, this way… it caches the thumbnails after the first load and that’s it. Having said that, I’m aware that my site load time has been shit for about three days now and I’m just about ready to move hosts again.

Professionalism

I’m not sure if it’s considered a bad thing to have a professional looking blog. I can’t quite tell from your comments. But my personal feeling on this is that when I dedicate a minimum of 3/4 hours on this labour of love each day… hell yeah I want it to look as “professional” as possible!

Busyness and Background

Yes, there’s more content in a smaller area (on the homepage)… hopefully, there is enough spacing, labelling and separation for things to be quite straightforward once the dust settles and you get used to looking to different parts of the page to achieve/view different things. I’m going to give that some time to “settle in” before considering any changes incase the busyness view is influenced by the fact that it’s all very new and unfamiliar.

The background… I know that my site is associated with a white background. 2 years ago, the site really stood out by being so minimalist in the beauty-blogging community but now, I feel that the overall look has become quite generic. I’ll never be one for teacups, garlands and textured backgrounds and want something different again. If I’ve achieved that (even if you’re not sure about it!) then hand on heart, on a personal level – that makes me happy.

However, I’ve always been the one to point out that black backgrounds are less user-friendly for reading text (which is why I’ve retained a white background for the content!) I think this is another aspect of the redesign that I’ll look at again in a few weeks.

Overall

Ok, I can tell I’m starting to ramble so will leave it there. The new site is my baby and like every proud Mum I want to show it off and I want you all to think it’s not a cabbage patch doll. BUT sometimes, babies take a while to grow into their features. I hope you give mine a little bit of time to develop, it’s your views I care about most of all and I am listening.

74 Responses to “Site Feedback…”

I’m not really a fan of the new website 🙁 i really liked being able to read most of th story while scrolling down the blog which was one of my favorite things about lipglossiping. i dont really like having to click on everything…it makes me not want to read. 🙁

I liked scrolling too…one of the major things that turns me off when i visit a new blog is having to click on a post. I’ll still read because I love your content, but I think the other layout may have been able to draw more followers (?). The white background also seemed more fresh and light. If it was all white, that might sway me a bit! I’m happy for you overall though, upgrades are great 🙂

Unfortunately I agree. I loved the old header soooo much, it was so pretty and one of my favourite things about the site! Now it does just look like a late 90s geocities webpage. I’m really sorry to say that because I do love the content and Charlotte so much! I will of course continue to read, I just regret the header and colour change.

Unfortunately, I agree with all you ladies here. After missing a couple days’ worth of post, one of my favourite things to do whilst winding down after a busy day was scrolling through a seamless page. There’s always page down/ page up if you want to skip some content.

Sadly I’m in agreement, the rest of it looks amazing but I really hate the boxes. I find it so much harder to read a blog, especially when there’s a lot of new updates, with clicking and going back and forth. It’s annoying and I tend to stop reading the blog when this happens. I don’t want to stop reading yours, though, because it’s one of my favourites.

Same here sadly. I love scrolling down and the clicking from post to post is taking ages. Don’t think I will be visiting with new site, as much as I love your blogging. I do definately agree that a white background would be much better. 🙂 xxxx

Agreed; it was clearly a lot of planning and work, but it comes across to me as extremely cluttered and is very difficult to read and decipher. I do prefer the old, light, airy look — too much going on here!

Yeah – it LOOKS amazing and it’s nice to see all the new posts in one go, but I actually want to read all your posts not just the ones on a topic that interests me, so it’s a bit of a bummer. It’s nice graphically though and it does stand out from the other beauty blogs and will no doubt help establish the ‘brand’ better. And I think it’s fair enough that you want to move more towards drop-in readers, I’m just sad that my lunchtime procrastination now requires more effort! Sorry for a functionality moan though – I do think the visual design is really clean and striking.

You could write your blog on a series of post it notes, and i would read them with the same eagerness! Sometimes change is good, sometimes change is not so good, but most off all its getting used to something different, in a few weeks time your readers won’t think twice about how your content is laid out, whats important is your rambles and reviews (and not forgetting cute photos of Leila!).

I think you’ve done a fab job Charlotte, and i appreciate the amount of effort and time you (and i suppose Mr L ;)) put into your blog and creating posts for us make-up junkies.

It’s loading very slowly for me. I too liked to be able to scroll down.

One comment previously was that it seemed more impersonal (as I remember). I think that’s what I meant by ‘too professional’. It looks very like a magazine feature rather than a blog. Trouble is that I’m suspicious of professional journalists and I want raw opinion so a very ‘corporate’ look kinda puts me off. I like a personal blog. Sorry to say it and I know the vast majority are in favour. It’s probably just silly old me.

Congrats, your hard work really shows. I do prefer the old layout – or mostly I prefer a less busy layout & reading a part or most of a post without having to click a lot. I do love the new banner, very snazzy. I think I’ll keep reading via Google reader as the super busy layout isn’t for me and the flickering images aren’t my favourite, esp on migraine days (but that’s just me, it’s so not a reflection of your hard work! I’m the weirdo!). It does load somewhat quicker than the old site but it’s still taking ages for me:-( Dunno why, I have a super fast connection & never have trouble with other sites – sometimes though, the old one took so long to load a page that I gave up.

Tbh I think I preferred the old layout – sorry – but as I usually read in Google Reader it doesn’t really make much difference! The only ‘real’ problem I have is that it loaded up really slowly when I came over to see the blog ‘in the flesh’ as it were – maybe I’ve just checked at a time when everything is running slow – who knows?

I like this layout. If there was one thing I could have said about the old one, it was that I was a bit confused as to how to read more content – this basically hands it to me on a plate, it’s great! Hope you gave Mr L a nice cup of tea as a thank you 😛

I don’t know what it is about the ads. I know there aren’t more, yet somehow they’re more obvious? I’m going to have to agree with what some people and say I preferred the old layout. It doesn’t look like something run by a person, but rather something run by a magazine or company.

To be honest, I’m not too bothered about the new layout, but the COLOURS are usually what affects my reading a blog- I think that white and lighter colours are much less “In your face”. I’m sorry to leave you negative feedback, and I hope we are not bombarding you :s xxx

I can see how much hard work and consideration has gone into the site revamp, both on your part and Mr L’s. My fella coded our previous website from start to finish over many hair-pulling months, so I know how hard it is.

The site does load a bit slower for me now, but I know you’re working on fixing that. I have to say that I too preferred the old design, but mostly because of it’s simplicity and color scheme. But I also appreciate the amount of time you spent on redesigning it so that we could access the content more easily, and I think sometimes it’s just difficult to get used to something new, even if it’s good for you. I’ll be still stalking your website a couple times a day to read your fabulous posts! xxx

Well i’ve got a super slow connection as i don’t use broadband just dial up and the site loaded quickly for me. I prefer professional layouts as it shows that you take your blog seriously. All in all its a big thumbs up from me – simple clear layout and lovely header. Well Done!

I really like how it looks! It does look very professional, which can put some people off as they might think professional=dishonest sponsored posts, but I like it!
I like how your new header moves when you hover over it too, very cute!

I had no idea I was on the new Lipglossiping website. It took about 2 minutes to adjust but now I’m really digging it! It’s much easier to view on the iPhone. Plus, I appreciate the lessening of advertisements!
Good job Charlotte & of course your husband aswell!

I actually really like it! It’s snazzier than before and seems more professional – I’ve seen some complaints of this, but personally it rocks my boat. The load time IS a smidge slow but when I recall AOL’s infancy, I count my blessings! We’ve just become so used to everything being instant that when it’s not, it’s seen as a problem…!
You and your husband need to give yourselves a pat on the back 🙂

Love the new site. For me it loaded much quicker! I think the only bit for me that I could even complain about is that the font color is not as black and just a touch difficult to read. But I have sensitive eyes so who knows! All in All love it, keep up the great work!
=)

I didn’t like that layout when some other blogs started using it, for the same reasons. The front page is a dog’s breakfast.

Perhaps it would be less daunting if:
* the “featured posts” area were not so high
* the “featured posts” area just showed each headline as the picture came up, not “fade-sliding” it in from below. Too much movement is distracting, in an already-distracting front page
* the images for the six latest posts were maybe half of 3/4 their current size

i love the look of the new design but i don’t like how the posts are all on the front page like that. i like when they are in order from top to bottom.. not lots of them side to side and up to down. the colors and graphics are wonderful though. i just prefer the up and down a ton more. if all u could do was have the latest posts be on top and then in order.. i’d love this 100% wholeheartedly. love u anyway.

The effort you made in improving your blog is much appreciated! I can see so much thoughts have been put into this new design! I do love that new banner and now that I am able to access categories from the top of the page makes search for a certain post easier! However, I do feel like the new page is a bit messy and hard to read and I too prefer being able to scroll down and read everything.

Charlotte, I would read your blog no matter what, but I promised a comment so here it is. I think the new layout looks less personal in the sense that I don’t see “you” when I look at it. I agree that for the amount of time you invest in this blog, it should look professional, but not in a way that loses your personality, which is why we all love this blog.

It looks like you’ve already changed the color scheme a bit, which was the main thing I would have suggested. To me, beauty is about whimsy and fun and grey/red/blue does not say whimsy and fun. If you want to use a color for the outer part of the page, what about the color of the link text? Or maybe a very very light grey, like the background in this comment box.

I am also not a big fan of the font, though that’s more of a personal preference. I think the blog would look more professional (in a good way) with Arial instead of Tahoma. And perhaps the thing I like the least about the new design is the header (but I LOVE the lady putting on her lipstick)… the fonts are just not working for me, it does not have the sleekness that I associate with your usual design aesthetic.

Well now I’ve probably ruined your day – please forgive me! I know what it’s like to work really hard on something and get tons of negative feedback, but in the end it’s better to be told. I love your blog (and you!) and I will read it no matter what. If this layout is exactly what you hoped for, tell everyone (me included) to sod off.

As I said in my comment yesterday, I love the look and feel of the design, and I think magazine-style formats are definitely the future of blogging. They’re also more attractive to potential advertisers which, whether people like it or not, has to be a consideration for any blogger.

While it doesn’t hurt to take on some of the feedback, it’s also worth baring in mind how resistant to change people can be. People *always* moan every time Facebook changes, then adjust to the new look quickly as the same content is still there. I suspect this will be the same.

I don’t like this new template. It is messy, noisy and it makes difficult to find what I was looking for. If too many things are highlighted, then none it is, the only result is a sort of street full of neon signs 🙁
You speak about a site that express “professionalism”. In my opinion, this template doesn’t say “professionalism” (and I designed internet sites) but the exact opposite. If you look to professional sites, the design is minimal and elegant, with very few accent on extremely few important things.
If a sites is too difficult to navigate, not intuitive, readers will go away, instead of spending 10 minutes to find what they shall find in 1. This is the first things I’ve learned for creating sites.
My 2 cents.
V

Most people are a bit wary of change, I know my initial reaction was “oh no” but it wasn’t based on anything, it was just that an old friend had had a shiny new makeover and it threw me a bit, in a few days I wont even notice. Although I have to say I have had some issues with loading the site if I click on your header (got an error message – it was like Christmas the sequel!) rather than a post title and even clicking on a post title it is taking an age to load – longer than your old layout which itself was longer than an average bloke. But you aint average so maybe that’s why! xx

I can see a LOT of hard work and thought has gone into the new layout, but I have to say I’m not that keen on it. It’s quite an assault on the eyes, there is a LOT going on, and I just don’t know where to start. I really liked the simplicity of the old layout! I still love your blog Charlotte, and still love you, so I’ll persevere, although I will have to lie down in a darkened room afterwards 😉

I really don’t want to put a downer on all your hard work, but I don’t like it, sorry. It’s a bit too busy for my liking, too many little boxes and it doesn’t look as personal anymore. It’s also too wide for my browser and resolution so I have to scroll for a chunk of the right hand side.

I like reading blogs while drinking my morning tea, but this feels like a bit too much effort to navigate and doesn’t make me feel relaxed anymore 🙁

This stood out for me from your post “I feel that the overall look has become quite generic. I’ll never be one for teacups, garlands and textured backgrounds and want something different again. If I’ve achieved that (even if you’re not sure about it!) then hand on heart, on a personal level – that makes me happy.”

You have definitely achieved it. Personally I love it but I have always been more of a content over design person and what’s important to me is your (excellent) writing. However from a design point of view I think that it elegantly strikes the balance between personal and professional and the navigation is WONDERFUL.

I read a lot of beauty blogs (although I don’t blog myself and actually don’t wear a lot of make-up but I hate wasting money and I find them relaxing) and I think yours stands out. Always did, but does even more so now.

Hi Charlotte! I love your blog and read it often and that it why I am commenting. The thing I liked best about your old layout was that there were so many posts on one page. It never took that long to load for me. I liked that I could read the last few posts quickly and in order. I don’t really know how I am supposed to navigate this one. I really dislike having to click on each separate post when I visit a blog. I love your blog but I will probably end up visiting less because I don’t like the way we have to view posts now.

I guess one of the things I liked best about the old layout was that it was as simple as another genius web site layout, MetaFilter. I don’t really like the header, the changing post at the top, or the side categories, but I would happily deal with all that stuff if you went back to having all the posts on one page.

I hope this isn’t too harsh — I’m not trying to be mean, it honestly is because I think you blog is great and I read it so often 🙂

hi, I never have a problem with your blog loading. I like the new site, but it does seem like a professional blog, as in a company’s one. I adore the new header, love the lady with her lipstick. I like the colour scheme, white backgrounds so much easier!!!! I like the magazine layout, have been browsing away merrily here!

Firstly, it is YOUR blog, not anyone else’s, so whilst it’s great to ask to everyone’s feedback, YOU are the person who is going to spend the most time looking at it. At the end of the day, people are not going to stop reading, because of the layout, as long as your style, personality and wonderful pictures shine through. So if you love it, then that’s all that counts.

Secondly, my personal opinion? I think it is not as ‘restful’ and clean looking, and despite loving the banner, I preferred your old one, and layout (although can appreciate the ease in finding things) – but I love your blog far too much to stop checking it 3 times a day, just because everything is in little black boxes as opposed to open white pages now…

I guess we are creatures of habit and get used to seeing things in a certain way, so anything different can get a negative response. I don’t dislike the new layout- I found it a bit “oo er!” when I first saw it, but then most things confuse me when I first see them hahaha! I think it’s just a case of getting used to it- it’s not like it’s actally a different blog is it!

Hi 🙂
I really love your blog and I am a great fan. (This is one of the blogs I depended on to get through some of my grad school classes) But I’m really not a fan of the the new blog layout. I don’t mean to hurt your feelings but it was so much easier to navigate before. I like being able to read all your post at once inside of having to constantly click in and then click back. Again I’m sorry and I really didn’t mean to be rude, I just really really liked you blog the way it was.

Charlotte, I will read this blog regardless of the layout, but I do think the new design made it lose a lot of its personality. Especially the graphic at the top, to me, looks just like any other semi-professional beauty blog (please don’t be insulted by the semi-professional label, by that I don’t mean that your blog is lacking anything). That header and not being able to scroll down and read the posts as I go are what I find most frustrating.
Love the colour scheme though!

I like the fact that its more “professional”, but I don’t like that you have this linear, box-clicking thing going on. I like to scroll down, its easy. The internet is supposed to be easy, and having to click on all the posts deters me from visiting the site. Thats just me though. I am still happy for you that you were able to do all this! I just think it needs a little bit of tweaking! Congrats! =)

I’m not a fan of it, but I hate to say that because I can see how much hard work you put into it. Its just so…busy it kind of takes away from the content. Love that she applies her lipstick up top though.

Charlotte, I absolutely love the new design & I’m very much of the point of view that if you love it then that’s what matters the most!

I think it looks professional, and as you say, for something you obviously put a fair few hours into every day then why shouldn’t it look professional?! But I also don’t think it’s lost any of you at all. All your content is still here and as fabulous as ever which is ultimately what people come back for every day.

As for technical things, I have a tiny laptop in relation to many people and the site fits my screen perfectly. If people aren’t into seeing adverts point them in the direction of firefox & adblock!

Very often change is difficult to get used to and people don’t like it. Look at the hoo-ha generated every time facebook gets a little face lift!

I still love your writing,
But i really don’t like the new layout i’m afriad – I know it is just personal taste but i just don’t read blogs that you have to click on all the posts separately (My internet is pretty slow)
Still love all the posts though!
x

Not a fan, I’m afraid. It is very professional looking but that loses some of the personality of the site, it seems more corporate and less personal. I find having to click on each post a little more difficult than the previous scrolling style. Colour scheme, font etc is all great though.

Wow, I’m a little surprised by all the negativity. It’s clear that a lot of time and effort has gone into the new design and layout. At the very least that should be respected. I’m pretty sure that 90% of the people above (me included) use Twitter and facebook, which constantly change format all the time so really what’s the big deal? I think some chill pills need to be swallowed.

Yes the uploading time might be inconvenient but that’s TEMPORARY and a technical blip that will soon be dealt with. It’s part and package of dealing with servers and hostings. We all know that, so why moan? Besides anyone who spends more than ten seconds thinking about this logically will conclude that this is a much more efficient layout. You get to see multiple posts all in one page, it’ll save you time people.

Embrace the change bloggers and stop complaining about something that you’re getting for free,

Wow. a bit harsh? It surely wasn’t about the differing opinions, but rather the negative way in which they were expressed…I too would have found the comments hurtful, if I had spent many hours on the ‘refurb’ . Despite the fact that I personally prefer the old format…

I couldn’t care less whether someone agrees with me or not. But I do care when a blogger has put her heart and soul into a refurb and is greeted with responses as if she’s committed some sort of crime. People seem to be taking the redesign so personally. Totally unnecessary and uncalled for. Wouldn’t be so bad if people said ‘not keen on the design but appreciate it’s your decision’ or ‘I’m going to embrace the change!’ but it’s all whinge whinge whinge as if they were paying for something they didn’t like.

Firstly, the site looks absolutely gorgeous! So pretty and very professional. Love the design. One can tell that you’ve put a lot of thought and time behind it. Be proud!

However, I’m personally not a big fan of the whole thing with posts as boxes. I quite often glance through a couple of posts before I decide what interests me. So with all posts in boxes, and less of the actual post visible, less will interest me. :/

That said … I’m not a huge fan of the new layout. Some of that is because I don’t like change – the new layout I’ll get used to, and I’ll probably end up liking it OK when I’m used to it. My favorite thing about your blog is that it used to feel kinda chatty and casual, personal and welcoming. That’s why I’ve done a lot of commenting here – because it feels like you’re talking to me. I know that’s cheesy. This more professional format … well it doesn’t seem so much like you’re talking straight to the reader – it’s more like a periodical. And yeah, it’s more professional, and as long as your voice stays the same, I’ll probably get over it and maybe keep commenting frequently.

But if I had to pick one thing I would suggest changing it’s the placement of one of your adds. The add at the beginning of each post is very ‘in your face’ I think kinda anywhere else would be better … like at the end of every post.
All your other adds I can ignore, but that one is impossible to visually skip.

i use blog lovin and just open each post indiviually so I really dont notice a huge difference. I looked at the home page and I’m not really crazy about the format. There are other popular blogs with that format that I never got into because I dont like the navigation. However, playing around with the site it looks like if you browse by archives you can get the posts linearly on the screen like the old layout so if I was reading through the archives thats how I would do it. I really dont have an issue with the ads.

As others have mentioned people take a while to adjust to change. I’m a moderator on a forum wesite and any time there is a change there is a big uproar. After a little while it settles down.

I’m closing the comments on this post now because I don’t want things to descend into any nastiness between you guys but thank you for all your thoughts – I hope I’ve addressed the major issues in the latest update:

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